CABDR Snow Update 2/11/19

Myself and a group of friends just completed the new CA BDR in our Overland 4x4 vehicles. This was an amazing experience and have some updates on trail conditions that we encountered during our run.

Mazourka was completely snowed in with deep drifts making this section of the route impassible by motorcycle as well as 4x4 vehicles. Due to the narrow, shelf road nature of the trail we decided to play it safe and return back and to take the normal route. It was found that there were many deep clay ice / mud pools along the unmarked track East of Owens River heading north. These would make for a messy go on an adventure bike. A couple were quite deep and made for an interesting time in my Land Cruiser.

McMurray Meadows Rd. was also snow covered with some deep drifts that made for a good time in my Land Cruiser, but may not be so fun on a bike. The majority of the trail had 3 to 4 inches of snow with drifts 12+ inches at the western most section of the trail. There were signs of 4x4 vehicles attempting to come up the trail in the opposite direction but failed and turned around. We fortunately had gravity on our side and were able to complete that section of the trail although it may be a bit difficult and dangerous for those travelling on two wheels.

4 to 6 inches of snow with an icy base were found at the end of Chidago Canyon Rd, but conditions were worse along Morris Mine Rd. We were the first to trek through the snow where we encountered 14+ inches of powder along a majority of the road before dropping to lower elevations. This may be incredibly difficult for Adventure Bikes. If our tracks remain clear it may be possible to ride within the tracks we created. This was a complete surprise as we were expecting a nice easy drive through the canyon and into Benton Hot Springs.